It Takes Courage
by ArtistsChild93
Summary: Forced to move to Tatooine after the near discovery of the Starling children's force-sensitivity, the eldest, Ivy must learn to deal with making friends in a new school. By chance, or fate, she befriends the young nephew of Owen and Beru Lars, Luke Skywalker, having many adventures as they grow. An alternate of So Starlings Learn to Fly.
1. New Girl at Anchorhead

Luke curled up into a tighter ball, trying to protect himself while Fixer continued to beat him brutally. Blood was poring from the twelve year old's broken nose as he lay helpless on the ground, while the bigger boy kicked him."

"How do ya like that ya little runt?" He booted the blond in the ribs, Luke hollered in pain as he felt his ribs break. "You'll do more than scream when I'm done with you Wormie!"

The boy lay on the ground sobbing, unable to escape from his tormenter. Fixer stomped hard on his leg, and Luke yelled again, this time as his leg broke under his heel.

"Hey!" a voice rang out, a few meters from them. The voice belonged to a diminuitive, but very angry looking girl, about Luke's age. "Leave him alone!"

This time the bully stomped on his victem's left hand, cracking the bones in his palm. He screamed again. Fixer clenched his fists and grinned cruelly, "What's the matter, little girl, you want some?"

The dark haired girl tightened her grip on her little brown school bag, and swung it experementally. It was heavy with schoolbooks, and she was in a foul temper. "I said leave him alone!"

Luke raised himself painfully into a sitting position, "Doh Iby," he tried to articulate through his broken and bloody nose, "gedd oubt!"

"Not a chance!" She said, as she swung the bag at the advancing Fixer and missing him by centimeters, "I'm not gonna leave you!"

Fixer glared at the small girl, "Stay out of this brat."

She knew this was going nowhere fast and her friend couldn't escape on a broken leg. Either she held him off until help could arrive, or she had to use an alternative. She chose the alternative, and Fixer Lorenzo crumpled to the ground unconsious.

She dropped the school bag and ran to her friend's side.

Luke was lying curled up in a tight little ball. His nose was badly broken and both eyes were blacked and swollen. She took the hand that wasn't injured and held onto it, "I sent Ester for help, somebody should be coming soon."

"Danks," He replied, "Budd you shobtnt habe."

"I wasn't just gonna let him beat up on you like that," she announced, "Especially not after what you did for me yesterday. I'm your friend Luke, Friends help each other when they're in trouble."

at that moment the nurse came running in, followed shortly by Ester, Biggs, and the girl's father.

**Earlier**

Mom I don't wanna go to school here!" Levinia Starling couldn't help but shake her head at her ever obstinate twelve year old daughter.

After it had nearly been discovered by school officials on their former home planet (everyone except Levinia's) that both her eldest and Johnathan, her younger brother, were force sensitive; the family had been forced to flee to a planet far away from the core.

And so, without warning or any fuss, the Starlings had moved to Tatooine, where Ivy was about to start school.

She was dressed as most children on the sweltering planet, in a loose beige tunic and carmel-colored full length skirt, with a pair of well-fitting white boots. But unlike other girls, she had opted to wear a pretty red headband with a bow on the side to keep her unruly black curls in check.

"Ivy," her mother sighed, "we've been through this, we moved here to keep you and Johnathan safe. I know you miss your friends, and I know your brother does too. But you don't realize, no, you wouldn't understand the things that they would do if they found out you and Johnathan were special."

"I don't want to be special Mom!" the preteen cried, "I want to be normal like everyone else."

Levinia smiled to herself. She remembered saying the same thing when she was Ivy's age, "I know Ivy, I felt the same way when I was your age. But you were chosen to be special. It's something you can't help anymore than who we are, or who you'll fall in love with, or what you like to eat."

"But what if no one likes me?" Ivy asked in a small voice. This was the real fear, the fear of every child who ever moved to a new school, although usually proven to be unfounded.

Levinia had not known that fear growing up. She had spent her whole childhood in the same small town. It wasn't until Ivy had been a year and a half that she had moved with Oddvar, her husband, to Corellia.

"I know sweetie," she hugged the child, "but I'm sure someone will like you there."

She looked up at her mother with scared green eyes, "Mommy can't we wait til tomorrow?"

"No honey," she kissed her daughter's forehead and passed her a small brown school bag, "your lunch is inside. Now go to the garage, your father's already got the speeder started, and I need to wake your brother."

And so at 07:20 Oddvar dropped his petite daughter off outside the small rual school in the chilly dawn air.

"Daddy, do I have to?" she was still apprihensive. "I think I might be getting a cold." She coughed twice for emphasis, "See?"

Her father chuckled, "You can't fool me Princess. Don't worry, it'll be fine! Why I'm sure by the end of today, you'll have made friends with a whole bunch of people. Go on now Ivy, there's no use deylaying it any further, you'll be late."

Ivy sighed reluctantly, "Okay," she leaned over for a kiss from her father and grabbed up her school bag. "bye daddy, I love you!"

"I love you too honey!" he called.

Ivy found her way to her first class and dropped herself into the seat nearest to the door, in case of a quick escape.

"Hello," Ivy saw she was seated next to a mousey looking girl slightly smaller than herself, "are you the new girl?"

"Um yeah," she responded, "I'm Ivy."

"I'm Ester." The other girl answered, "I can't belive that I'm the first one to meet you! Me! You're the first new person to move here in like...forever!"

"Well gee, why didn't you say you wanted my autograph!" Ivy joked.

"Ooh look here comes the teacher!" her friend exclaimed. Ivy watched a forbidding woman who appeared to be in her late thirties wearing an Imperial teacher's uniform stride to the front of the class.

"Now class, I would like you to turn in your holo texts to page 394, Chapter 7: The Battle of Corusant."

Ivy's hand shot up anxiously.

"What is it?" the woman glared at her.

"Um-um," stammered Ivy in a terrified voice, "well, um-"

"Don't stutter!" snapped the teacher, "Sit up straight!"

Ivy's words trailed off into a terrified squeak. She swallowed multiple times before she regained her voice, "Well you see, Mrs-"

"Miss!" she snarled, "Miss Tucker."

"Miss Tucker!" Ivy saw a blond boy raise his hand across the room.

"What is it Skywalker?" the boy flinched under her glower.

"That's the new girl." He announced in a small voice, "She was probably trying to ask for a holo text."

Well why didn't you say so?" Miss Tucker turned her attention back to Ivy.

She in turn rose from her seat and smacked a small hand on the desk in frustration. "I tried!"

"Sit down Miss- what is your name?"

"Starling," she squeaked, "I'm Ivy Starling."

"Surnames are good enough!" she turned on Ester, "Miss Rhea, if you would be so good to get a text for Miss Starling?" she leaned in close, and Ivy could tell she was in desparate need of a breath mint, "As for you, one more word and it's detention for a week, is that quite clear?"

Ivy nodded dumbly, too scared to speak.

"Now class, turn to page 394."

…

"Is Miss Tucker always that bad?" Ivy asked.

Ester shrugged, "I dunno, usually, but just to about one person per week. Last week it was Windy."

She couldn't help but notice the way her friend lingered on the name, "Was that the blond kid?"

"No, no!" Ester made a gagging motion, "that's Luke Skywalker, He's too scrawny for my tastes. And he's Fixer Lorenzo's personal punching bag. Even if I did like him, you don't mess with Fixer."

"Oh?" Ivy inquired, "Why's that?"

"He's the biggest guy in the school." Ester explained, "He's fifteen, but he flunked two years in a row (at least in middle school). They say that he did it just to beat on Skywalker I wouldn't be surprised, he's awful mean."

At lunchtime, after being subjected to the usual classroom introductions new students go through. Ivy sat next to Ester munching thoughtfully on a bantha sandwich. While her friend chatted gaily beside her.

Ivy observed the blond boy from history class (he sat next to her in math class, and had asked for a stylus) sitting by himself in a corner, nibbling on some sort of pastry, and studying some form of holobook with rapt attention. She felt sorry for him, so while her friend prattled on, Ivy walked over to him.

Luke looked up from the book, it was one of his favorites, _The Adventures of Mynoch Man, _at the newcomer.

"Hello," she said, "would you like to sit with us?"

He stared at her, nobody ever asked him to sit with them, most people knew it meant trouble. "No, no I'm fine. I like being by myself." When he was invited to sit with someone, this was his usual response. It was a lie of course, Luke enjoyed other people's company, but unfortunatly anyone who hung out with him (with the exception of Biggs Darklighter) became a target for fixer. "I'd much rather read."

Ivy tried her best not to look hurt, "All right, suit yourself."

Luke felt a pang of lonliness, he privately thought it would be nice to have someone to talk to for a change, but he felt as though he couldn't risk it.

"What are you doing?" asked Ester in an edgy voice.

Ivy shrugged, "I thought he needed someone to talk to. I mean he's all alone over there."

"Are you nuts?" she hissed, "Do you know what Fixer does to people who hang out with him?"

Ivy sniffed, "I don't much care, Ester, I'm not afraid of him."

Ester crossed her arms, "Well I am. Do you know what he did to Arleen Allee last week? And she wasn't even talking to Skywalker."

"I told you," growled Ivy, "I don't care, and you shouldn't either Ester. Just because he's bigger than everyone else doesn't mean that he should be allowed to walk over everybody or be able to act like he owns the place. Somebody needs to stand up to him!"

The two friends spent the rest of the lunch hour in silence. And the rest of the day was univentful.

At last, she found herself opening her locker and wearily pulling out her little brown school bag and neatly tucking her new holo texts that she needed for homework into it. When an unpleasant voice caught her attention, "Hey new girl!"

Ivy saw an eaqually nasty looking girl with dark hair, flanked by two much larger ones. She stopped in front of Ivy and pointed, "I like your bow new girl, give it to me!"

Ivy crossed her arms and shook her head, "No."

She snapped her fingers and her cronies grabbed her tightly. Ivy struggled vainly.

"Let go of me!"

The latter snatched the head band out of her hair and placed it on her head and adressed the other two, "Well, how do I look."

Ivy made a wild grab for it, "Give it back!"

The bully smirked at her, "Find something to do with her will ya?"

Ivy was shoved into her open locker and the door was slammed behind her, "Let me out!" she banged on the door."

She could here the three girls outside laughing while she continued to bang wildly on the locker. "Please let me out!"

After some time, the shouts turned to sobs. Ivy had never liked small dark spaces, and being trapped in one was a traumatizing experience, "Please let me out!" she begged, "I don't like it in here."

The other only laughed, "See ya later New girl."

Ivy yelled and cried, but it was no use, they were gone. She was alone, crammed into a tiny locker that could barely fit her books.

It seemed like hours that she sat there, waiting for someone to come along, wondering if her father would come looking for her. When she cried herself out, she sat in the dark listening for any sign that someone was coming.

She would even welcome that Fixer character Ester had mentioned, provided that he let her out. But nobody seemed to be coming that way. So she remained wedged tightly in her prison.

Then she heard it, a boyish groan and a clunk as the owner of the voice went to rest his back against the outside.

Starling banged her fists against the door. "Let me out!"

The person jumped away from the door, "Who's there?"

It was the boy, Luke, from history class that morning, "It's me, the new girl! Please let me out!"

"Do you know the combination?" he asked.

"It's mine," replied Ivy, "it's 02-11-06. I don't like it in here."

"Don't worry," she heard the beeps of the combination being put in and the door swung outward.

Her rescuer now had a nasty looking shiner and a bloody lip. Although Ivy hadn't noticed it earlier, he was about the same height as her, with bright blue eyes, and a deep cleft in his chin. "You okay?"

"I guess I'll live," she sighed, "Thanks for getting me out."

"No problem." he grinned, "How long were you in there?"

She shrugged, "I dunno, lost count."

He winced sympathetically. "I know the feeling, Fixer stuffed me in a locker last year, and the year before, and shoved me into a waste receptical, and hung me from the rafters," he admitted embarassingly, "I'm Luke by the way, I sit next to you in math class."

"Ivy," she shook his hand, "but you probably already know that. So how'd you get that shiner?"

"Fixer," he confirmed, "He saw you ask me to sit with you, and thought he needed to teach me a lesson."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," she responded, "you just looked like you needed a friend."

He shrugged, "Oh I'm fine, I've got plenty of friends, I just can't talk to them when Fixer's around."

"If you ask me," announced Ivy, "Your friends would be better ones if they stood up for you. What kind of friends can't talk to each other when someone else is around!"

Luke sighed, "All right, you got me, I don't have any. Well, Deak and Windy I guess some of the time, but not really. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lie to you."

"Would you like to be my friend?" Ivy questioned.

He shook his head, "I couldn't ask that of you. I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me."

"I'm not exactly asking." she smiled, "I want you to be my friend, I'm not afraid of Fixer, and I don't care about how big he is. Anyway, I don't belive the rumors that he flunked to grades on purpose to wail on you. I wouldn't want to spend two extra years in middle school."

Luke laughed, "You're not wrong there, Fixer is dumber than a dead Jawa."


	2. Aftermath

Ivy found that Luke's farmboy twang he had to his already thick Tatooine drawl had started to grow on her. And while Luke walked alongside her chattering happily, she was just content to listen while he told stories, and generally tried to cheer her up.

When they got outside the found the pick up line was empty, "Oh!" Ivy cried in frustration, "He's not here.

She could feel hot shameful tears making their way down her face. Luke put an arm around her and drew her into a sideways hug, "Hey, don't cry Ivy, I'm sure he'll be here, school didn't let out all that long ago you know. Maybe there ways an emergency at home."

"What emergency?!" shreiked Ivy in a panicked voice.

"Nothing serious!" exclaimed Luke, "You know, maybe your mom left the stove on, or the speeder overheated." He squeezed her shoulders, "Calm down, I'm sure nothing happened."

As if to reassure his point, Ivy's father drove up in front of the school. "Sorry for the wait, Princess, your baby brother got sick during school." he caught sight of Luke, "Who's your friend?"

"This is Luke," Ivy grinned, "Luke, this is my dad."

Luke gave him a small smile, "Hello Sir."

"Do you have a ride home Luke?" Oddvar asked. This boy had something familiar about him.

The boy shrugged, "Biggs, my friend Biggs, usually takes me home. He must be running late."

"How far away do you live, Luke?" Ivy's father questioned.

Luke pointed, "About 20 kilometers that way."

"Well why don't I give you a ride home today." yes, Oddvar felt sure this boy was familiar, "it's not too far out of our way."

Luke blushed, "I couldn't ask you to do that!"

"You don't have to." Oddvar answered kindly. "I'm a parent, I can't just leave a child, even someone else's all alone here." Ivy's father eyed the small boy up and down, noticing the black eye and split lip, "anyway, it seems as though you had a nasty run in with someone."

He ran a hand nervously through his overgrown hair, "It's nothing. Thank you for the ride, Sir."

It was no problem Luke." Oddvar Starling smiled at the pair, "So how was school?"

"Awful." Ivy sniffed. "My first class, I had a really mean teacher who yelled at me because I didn't have a holo text."

Ivy could see her father's neck turn red, "She what?!"

"I saw the whole thing!" Luke called, "She was just trying to ask for the text and Miss Tucker is so mean."

"Miss Tucker eh?" Ivy recognized the dangerous tone in his voice, "I may have to have a chat with her. What else happened."

"Well," Ivy said, "most of the day was better. I think I made a new friend, her name is Ester Rhea."

"Oh yeah, Ester," Luke grinned, "She's a but stuck up, but she's nice."

"We got in an argument at lunch," she began nervously, "And then, when I was getting ready to go; this girl came and took my bow and stuffed me in my locker."

Oddvar slammed on the brakes, "What?"

The girl nodded, "If Luke hadn't come along, I'd still be stuck in that locker."

"Well thank you Luke," her father watched him squirm uncomfortably. "I'm glad you came along to help."

He blushed fiercly. "It wouldn't be right to just leave her in there. Plus I know what it's like."

"Oh you do?" Luke had realized his mistake too late, "and who is it who has been stuffing you in lockers?"

He gulped, "Ah, no one."

Ivy nudged her friend, "It's all right Luke, you can trust him."

Luke swallowed, "Fixer, his name is Fixer Lorenzo. He's bigger than me."

"Ah," He nodded understandingly. Luke was very small for his age and very thin. To be plain he looked as though he never would grow to be very big, "listen Luke, I know I shouldn't pry about this, but I think it would be a good idea to tell your parents about what's been going on?"

"They're my aunt and uncle," he corrected, "my parents died before I was born."

…

"Thank you so much for taking Luke home." Beru Lars was standing at the front door of the small farmhouse looking immensely grateful to see her nephew home safe, "When Luke's friend Biggs commed to tell me he was having speeder problems, I didn't know what to do! Would you like to come in? Supper's almost ready if you'd like to stay for a bit."

"No, Beru," he declined, "Ivy and I couldn't impose, but we can stay a few minutes if I could have a private word?"

"Of course," Luke's aunt called out to him, "Luke, why don't you give your friend a tour of the house."

"Sure! Hey Ivy you want me to show you around." His hand latched onto hers as he led her away.

"You have a charming little daughter." Beru smiled after them.

"She is that," Oddvar said proudly, "your nephew's not bad either. You know, he's probably one of the most polite childeren I've come across."

"He should be," Beru answered, "what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well," Ivy's father began, "on the ride here, your nephew let something slip when we were talking about an incident involving my duaghter. You see, Ivy told me that some girl had shoved her into a locker and Luke happened to have mentioned that he'd had similar incidents."

"I see." she sighed, "We've had problems before."

"Eventually I convinced him to tell me what was going on." continued Oddvar, "he said that a boy named Fixer Lorenzo has been beating up on him."

Beru's expression darkened a little, "I knew something was going on. After what he did to Luke last year, I can't belive they let him back in."

"He sounds like a piece of work." he advised, "Although if your are planning to speak with the administration, which I would if I were in your place, you should probably talk to Luke to get his story."

…

"Luke, can I come in?" Beru knocked quietly.

"Sure thing." Luke was sitting cross-legged on his bed doing his homework. "I'm almost done with my homework. What do you want?"

Beru sat beside her nephew, "Luke, I talked to your friend Ivy's father and he told me that you've been having trouble with something. Is there anything you wanna tell me?"

Her nephew gulped, "Um," Luke knew he couldn't lie to his aunt, "Fixer's back and, you know, he's been wailing on me. Am I in any trouble?"

"No Luke," Beru patted the boy's arm, "You're not in any trouble. But Uncle Owen and I are going to take care of it.

…

"Great going." Luke snarled as he passed by his friend, "Your dad told my aunt everything!"

"I said," Ivy corrected harshly, "that you could trust him. I didn't say he wasn't going to tell anyone. Do you like getting beat up?"

Luke ignored her and sat in his seat with a huff.

"Hey," Ester sank down beside her, "I'm sorry about yesterday."

"Are you saying this because Fixer got suspended?" Ivy asked.

Ester shook her head, "No! Last night I got to thinking about it, and I realized that you were right. It's not Skywalker's fault that Fixer doesn't like him, and he did look lonely. I really am sorry, and I'd say it even if he wasn't suspended. Why don't you ask Luke to come sit with us again?"

Ivy glared at the back of his head, "I don't think I want him sitting with us, not if he's going to behave like a stupid idiot."

"I take it you two aren't talking to each other." she observed.

Ivy sighed, "Yes, he's mad because I told him to tell my dad, and my dad told his aunt."

"Oh." Ester nodded knowingly, "So he's mad at you because your dad ratted him out. Boys are so stupid."

…

At lunchtime, Luke sat down next to Ivy, having cooled down and realized just how silly he had been. But the moment he sat down, Ivy gave him the back of her head.

"I'm not speaking to you."

Luke sighed, "Look, I'm sorry Ivy. I shouldn't have said what I did, it wasn't your fault your dad told."

She continued to face away from him, "That wasn't any reason to treat me the way you did."

"I know!" he continued, "It was really low of me, and stupid. And I'm really really sorry, please talk to me."

Ivy sighed, she couldn't stay mad at him, even though he had hurt her feelings earlier.

"Ivy he did say he was sorry." put in Ester.

"Alright," Ivy turned around to look at him, "I forgive you."

"You're not mad at me?" he asked hesitantly.

"No!" Ivy groaned, "Irritated, but not mad."

…

After school, the three friends had decided to stay after to work on homework. Luke and Ester had both used Ivy's comlink to call Biggs, and their gaurdians to tell them where they were.

The three of them had found that they were each good at something that the other two were not. For example: Luke was talented with both math and science, but was not very good with writing or history, Ivy was excellent in writing and history, but was terrible in math and science, and Ester's forte was in history and math, but she hated science and was not a very good writer.

"No no! Ivy!" Luke exclaimed, "Your supposed to divide that and then add 13+5."

"Oh, now I get it." Ivy felt rather stupid once Luke had shown her what to do. She took a glance at Luke's writing assignment and noted how awful his handwriting was, and how abysmal his spelling was too. "Sweet Force Luke! You really need to work on your handwriting!"

"I can't really help it." he replied.

And so it went on, until Luke excused himself to use the freshner. And when he didn't come back for a very long time, the girls began to worry about him.

"What's taking him so long?" Ivy wondered aloud.

Ester snickered, "I know he's taken almost as long as we do in the bathroom."

Ivy had a very uneasy feeling, "Do you think we should check on him?"

"I don't know, do you want to go looking in the boys freshner after him?" Ester had caught on to her friend's anxious mood.

Ivy shrugged, "I wasn't gonna go in the freshner after him, I just wanted to see if he's okay."

When they went to check on him, however, they found that he was anything but okay. Fixer was standing over him booting him in the ribs.

Ivy glanced at Ester, "Ester, I want you to very quickly get help, my dad may be outside. Bring anyone who can help."

Ester, who needed no second bidding, ran in the opposite direction, while Ivy strode toward Fixer and her prone friend with her little brown bag clutched in her hand.

…

Biggs and Ivy's father stopped in front of Ivy and the injured Luke. "Oh my gods!" cried Biggs, "I never thought he'd take it this far." he grasped Luke's good arm, "Hey Buddy, Ivy's dad's gonna take you to the hospital okay? Can you walk?"

Luke shook his head, "Doh, mah lebg's broked."

"I'll have to carry him." Oddvar said, "We don't have a stretcher. What are we gonna do about him?" he inducated the unconsious Fixer.

"I caught Miss Tucker as she was leaving." Biggs said, "she'll be along any minute, I'll stay until she gets here."

Oddvar knelt by Luke's side, "I'm gonna have to carry you Luke, and it's going to hurt your leg, I'm sorry."

"Dah's obkay." he snuffed. Oddvar, as gently as he could, lifted the small boy from the ground. Luke bit back a scream as his leg throbbed painfully.

"I know son, I'm sorry. We'll lay you across the back seat so it won't hurt as bad."

…

Owen and Beru reached the hospital soon after Luke arrived and were led to his room. When they entered, the small boy had five people at his bedside. One was Luke's tall dark haired best friend, Biggs, the other was Ivy's father, who had wavy brown hair and the same eyes. Brown eyed brown haired Ester Rhea, and curly dark haired and overly freckled Ivy Starling, and the doctor.

"Luke has three fractured ribs," the doctor began, "his nose is broken, as well as his right leg and left hand. They have the boy who did this in custody. We're going to have to operate on his nose, and he'll be in a cast for three weeks."

"That's fine." Owen said, looking at this wife, "Can we talk to him."

"Of course."

…

Luke spent the next couple of days in bed, but every day Ivy and Ester came over to bring him his homework and explain what was happening in school.

Owen and Beru privatly were beginning to think that something more than friendship was growing between Ivy and Luke. They knew that they were too young to know what those feelings were yet. For Force sake, Luke hadn't even hit puberty yet, he was only twelve. But they saw the way they looked at each other. Neither of them would have been at all suprized if one day they were watching those two get married.


	3. Letters to Luke

Dear Luke,

We've finally arrived at the rebel base, I can't tell you where it is, the Empire might be able to intercept this. The place is huge, it's in an old temple in the middle of a rainforest. It's beautiful here, especially since I haven't seen green in so long, I wish you could see it, you'd love it here. Unfortunately for me, the humidity makes my hair do all kinds of crazy things, perhaps I should send you a holo.

So far I have very few duties, they haven't processed me yet, but tomorrow, I'll be taking the exam to become a pilot. I expect that I shall probably pass, but you never know. You'd like the pilots I've met so far.

Let's see: There's Wedge Antilles from Corellia, he's nice but a bit too friendly with the ladies, Jek Porkins (the most unfortunate name ever) from Bestine IV, he's a great big bantha plushie disguised as a pilot. The leader is Garven Dries from Virujansi, he and my father seem to know each other from "the old days." You're not gonna believe this, but there's also an Earthlian who came with a little girl, her name's Kourt Kovacks and she's about my age and she's a wicked good pilot."

Mom, Dad, and Johnathan are settling in well, despite the fact that we all miss our friends. I miss you a lot, Luke, It's weird not being able to just hop in my speeder and come over to visit. I'm half a galaxy away now.

But tell me, how are Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru? Tell them I said hello. I hope things haven't gotten too boring without me around, but don't worry, I'm sure we'll see each other very soon, Luke. For one thing, I think you're destined to be a part of this. Don't ask me why, I just know.

Just out of curiosity will you be available at 21:00 tomorrow, that's when I'm free. I was thinking we could message each other then, but I know Uncle Owen may have you busy. Let me know if you are, I'd love to hear from you.

Yours Truly

Ivy

Dear Ivy,

I'm glad you've gotten to the rebel base safely. I was worried about you since I hadn't heard from you in a couple of days. It does sound beautiful, I liked the picture of you and your hair, it cheered me up. I was having a pretty bad day.

Uncle Owen and I got into a fight about the academy again. I wish he would just let me go instead of him telling me to wait another season. If I keep waiting one more season I'm never gonna get off of this rock. I'll never see you again.

I wish I was there with you, I mean, we were just starting to explore what we could be and then you had to leave. It's not fair. You were the first person, other than Biggs, to see me as something other than a loser.

Well, anyway, I'm sure you don't wanna hear about how miserable I am. Aunt Beru says hi and that she hopes you're doing well, and if you're on leave, you can stop by anytime. Knowing my aunt, she'll probably load you up with food or something.

I loved the holos you sent me, especially the ones of the forest, I've never seen anything so beautiful. The sunsets here are pretty close. Your hair doesn't look too bad in the holo of you, I like your hair wild, it's interesting.

I hope you passed your test, then at least one of us can be a pilot. I don't think I'll ever get the chance, but I'll be available at 21:00, that's after dinner here. I hope it's not too late for you.

Love,

Luke

_21:00_

_IvyPatrish has signed on..._

_ShootingStar has signed on..._

_ShootingStar: _Hey

_IvyPatrish:_ Hi Luke, how are things?

_ShootingStar: _Better, went out to cool off for a bit, and Aunt Beru and I had a little chat. She told me Uncle Owen just doesn't want me to get hurt, and that maybe I should wait another year. Did you pass your test?

_IvyPatrish: _I don't know yet, but I'll know tomorrow. I'm glad you've worked everything out.

_ShootingStar: _Sort of, I haven't talked to Uncle Owen yet. Anything else new?

_IvyPatrish:_ Not really, I've made friends with the new girl. Not really hard though, there aren't many of us.

_ShootingStar:_ Who?

_IvyPatrish:_ Girls! There aren't many girls in the alliance.

_ShootingStar: _Oh, I feel stupid. How many girls are there?

_IvyPatrish:_ Well, there's me, the new girl, Kourt, and another named Beth. That's all the pilots, there are a few more, but I don't know them yet. Oh, and the little girl...what is her name...It's pronounced Eye-net, but I'm not quite sure how she spells it. Speaking of girls, how's Ester.

_ShootingStar:_ Engaged.

_IvyPatrish:_ Windy?

_ShootingStar:_ Yup, not surprising, he did get her pregnant.

_IvyPatrish:_ Ahh, so it's to be a shotgun wedding?

_ShootingStar: _A what?

_Ivy Patrish: _Sorry, old Earthlian term my mother uses. I meant to say that it's a wedding at blaster point.

_ShootingStar:_ I get it now, yeah, that's pretty much it. Ester's dad was pretty mad when he found out though. I'd hate to think how mad your dad would be if I had slept with you and gotten you pregnant. Between him and Uncle Owen, I'd be dead.

_IvyPatrish:_ Hahahaha! I can imagine, your uncle would murder you Luke, bring you back to life and murder you again. It's a good thing the closest we've gotten was that kiss during the sandstorm our last year of secondary.

_ShootingStar:_ Thank the Force!

_IvyPatrish:_... What do you mean by that.

_ShootingStar:_ I didn't mean it that way.

_IvyPatrish:_ How did you mean it.

_ShootingStar:_ Uhh, I don't know.

_ShootingStar:_ I guess what I mean to say is, um, that it's not like I wouldn't want to be...well... like that with you. Just feels like it would've been a bad time.

_ShootingStar: _Ivy?

_ShootingStar:_ Are you mad at me?

_IvyPatrish: _I was. I'm sorry, I took it the wrong way, but you know me, I just can't stay mad at you. Either that or I'm just a glutton for punishment.

_ShootingStar:_ Hey! No fair!

_IvyPatrish:_ Aww! I can almost hear the whine in your voice. How adorable.

_ShootingStar:_ You're such a jerk Ivy.

_IvyPatrish:_ I know, but you love me.

_ShootingStar:_ You know, if anyone is the glutton for punishment, it's gotta be me. I swear, you are going to be the death of me.

_IvyPatrish:_ Luke, the only person that will be the death of you is you.

_ShootingStar:_ Whatever, Ives.

_IvyPatrish:_ Remember, I saved your life, five times.

_ShootingStar: _Like I haven't saved yours. Remember Beggar's Canyon, when you wrecked your speeder bike trying to thread the stone needle, and I snatched you off just in time?

_IvyPatrish:_ How could I, my parents grounded me for the rest of the school year and made me get a job at a diner to pay for a new one. And then you started showing up there everyday trying to order nerf caviar just to annoy me. Nerf don't even lay eggs.

_ShootingStar:_ That was funny!

_IvyPatrish:_ Then when they finally kicked you out, you started singing Don't you Leave me on my Own. You sing like a dying duck.

_ShootingStar:_ What's a duck?

_IvyPatrish:_ an aquatic bird.

_ShootingStar:_ Oh. Well, I'll make a note of that, and that I sing like a dying one. Thank you.

_IvyPatrish:_ That wasn't a compliment, I never thought I was gonna live that down. I'm best friends with an idiot.

_ShootingStar:_ Hate to break it from you, but I'm your boyfriend.

_Ivy Patrish:_ It's not too late to back out, you know, you haven't gotten a ring on my finger yet.

_ShootingStar: _Give me enough time and a decent paycheck, and I will provide one.

_IvyPatrish: _You really are serious aren't you?

_ShootingStar: _Maybe, you never know. That's why I told you to give me time. Although, if it doesn't work out, I hope we can stay friends.

_IvyPatrish:_ I'd hate to lose you. We've been best friends since we were kids.

_ShootingStar:_ Hey Ives, I'm gonna have to cut this short, I have to get up at the crack of dawn to fix the old vaporator in the south corner.

_IvyPatrish: _That's fine, I probably should get to bed too, I have to get up to see my test results and check the duty roster. I miss you.

_ShootingStar:_ I miss you too.

_ShootingStar has signed off_

_Ivy Patrish has signed off_

Dear Luke,

Guess what? I passed the pilot's test! You are now talking to Lieutenant Ivy Patricia Starling of Red Squadron. You may now bow down and worship me.

I'm just kidding, but I am so excited! I can't wait to take to the skies again. The only thing that would make this better, is if you were here with me. You'd make an excellent pilot, the X-Wing controls are very similar to the T-16's.

Red squadron has welcomed me with opened arms, like I'm a member of the family. Kourt and myself are the only girls in the squadron. Not to say anyone catches my fancy, I like short blond farmboys. Well, I like you that is.

Anyway, today I get my flight suit, my helmet, and my ship. It won't be new, but that won't matter, it will be my baby. I hope you're taking good care of my speeder, sorry I couldn't get a fresh coat of paint on it. I miss you Luke, I'm sure I've mentioned that before, but I really do. Life is so dull without you. Even while I'm out fighting the Empire, It won't be nearly as exciting as the adventures we've had together.

And I hope we can have more adventures when we meet up again. Seriously though, as soon as you can you should join the rebellion. Don't worry about going to the academy, you wouldn't fit in there, you're too nice to be an Imperial. Plus, I wouldn't ever want to have to fight you, it would break my heart. We'd have to arrange a convoy to pick you up, but they could take you to our base. If you felt they would be safer, your aunt and uncle could come too. They wouldn't have to worry about getting a bad harvest anymore, everything is taken care of here, and we can always use more helping hands.

Think about it Luke, and if you decide to join us, I'll be in touch. It may just be wishful thinking, but I thought I would just suggest it. And I know it would be hard to convince your aunt and uncle to leave the farm.

At any rate, I hope you're doing well, and that you've settled things with your uncle. I hate it when you two fight, but Force knows you're both too stubborn and hard-headed for your own good. Both your aunt Beru and I agree on that.

Yours,

Ivy

Dear Ivy,

I'm sorry, as much as your offer sounds like a good one, I could never get my aunt and uncle to leave, and I can't just leave them. They need me, and there's just no possible way I could get my uncle to move away from the farm.

I've patched things up with Uncle Owen, although I wish he would tell me why I can't go off to the academy. It was the same thing when I wanted to apply to go away to school. Sometimes I think he doesn't realize that I'm not a little boy anymore, but I love him still. I can't help it. I guess sometimes, no matter how much you're determined not to like someone, if there family, you can't help but love them.

Have you ever thought of that? How frustrating love is, even when you're mad, or the person hurt you, you can't stop loving them. I mean, even when I'm upset at my aunt and uncle I can't help myself.

Sorry, I'm rambling. Congratulations on passing your test, I hope you do a lot of good out there, I wish I were out there with you Ives. Then again, I suppose only one of us was ever meant to be successful and it sure as hell isn't gonna be me.

Did you hear that Fixer's out of jail, yeah, I didn't until earlier today. Don't worry though, he doesn't scare me anymore. He tried to insult my aunt, and you know what I did? I punched him in the nose. Long story short, I've got a black eye, but I gave Fix two. And I'm grounded. I did it though, I finally stood up to him.

Anyway, I hope you're doing well, tell your parents and that brother of yours I said hi. And please don't be mad at me for getting into a fight.

Love,

Luke

P.S. Did you seriously just call me short?

**I know this is a bit confusing, but bear with me. I've decided that every couple of chapters, I'm gonna put more letters from Ivy to Luke and so on. So if it seems as though I may have skipped ahead, I will get to it. This is just kind of a taste of their adventures, if you will. **

**Also, I will be revising my first few chapters, as I made the mistake of not reading over my work before I posted it. Oops, I made a boo-boo. However, I may not be able to get to it for a week or two as this week is tech week. For those of you who are not in theatre, tech week is the last week before the show, and its generally crazy. On top of that, I am in every scene except for the ones involving only the main cast.**

**Thank you, Jedi Jesi Jiin for reviewing my work, I always appreciate constructive criticism, feel free to keep giving me advice so that I can improve my writing.**


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